Andrew Shepherd – Director of the Chronic Poverty Network at ODI

THE ROAD TO ZERO: THE CHRONIC POVERTY REPORT

The Zero Poverty Tripod

STOPPING IMPOVERISHMENTPoverty transitions – escapes and descents into poverty

A dynamic post-2015 goal toeradicate extreme poverty

Definitions of poverty concepts used in the report

• Extreme poverty = $1.25 per person per day (or below national poverty lines in some cases). This basic statistical measure is based on consumption or expenditure as recorded by household surveys.

• Severe poverty = $0.70 per person per day, based on the average consumption of the poor in sub-Saharan Africa (or in some cases consumption below national food or severe poverty lines).

• Chronic poverty = extreme poverty that persists over years or a lifetime, and that is often transmitted intergenerationally.

• Impoverishment = descent into extreme poverty.• Sustained escapes from extreme poverty = staying out of poverty and

progressing towards a higher threshold (such as $2 per person per day).• Panel household survey = a survey that tracks the same households over several

years, enabling the tracking of movements in and out of poverty.• Multidimensional deprivation/poverty = the Oxford Poverty and Human

Development Initiative defines this as being ‘deprived in 3 of 10 assets and capabilities’; and severe deprivation as being deprived in half of these indicators

Policies for the zero poverty tripod

Bolsa Família contributed to Brazil’s success in reducing extreme poverty, which more than halved, from 17.5% to 8.4%, between 2003 and 2009. In 2011 it expanded into a large multi-programme initiative called Brasil Sem Miséria, built around two key principles: economic inclusion and intermediation

Changes in land assets among the poor, poorest and median quintiles 1990s-2000s

India

Kenya

Egypt

Ethiopia

Bangladesh

-30 -25 -20 -15 -10 -5 0 5 10

MedianPoorPoorest

Absolute percentage change in incidence of land ownership between 1990s and 2000s

Source: Analysis of DHS data

Pamela is a domestic worker in the morning and a carpenter in the afternoon. For her carpenter job, she obtained a special contract signed by the responsible village chief, the district level officer and her employer.

Targeted services for migrant workers: the case of the Aajevika Bureau in Rajasthan, India

Services providedRegistration and photo ID

Training and placement

Legal counselling, arbitration services and legal literacy

Financial inclusion and linkages with social security schemes

Family Support Programme and empowerment

Inheritance-based destitution in Bangladesh: Halima.

Widow; married at 13 to a poor man. Cared for ill grandfather and father, promised land in return for doing so – land that she never received. Brother retains the 0.4 acres of land and the 200 betel nut and coconut trees on it. Denied a document to prove ownership of 3 decimals of land to rebuild her house post-cyclone, by brotherEldest sons migrated; looks after her younger children with no support.

Addressing intersecting inequalities

Towards progressive political settlements

STOPPING IMPOVERISHMENTPoverty transitions – escapes and descents into poverty

Type of risk Impoverishment channel Policies to mitigate risk and reduce vulnerability

Individual Production-related risks (inherent in farming and in entrepreneurial activity) and unemployment.Credit-debit spirals.Health shocks.Life-cycle turning points.

Tailor-made financial services, especially savings and insurance products.Universal Health Coverage.Social assistance for the extreme poor and social insurance in countries where the economy is formalising.Pre-school educational vouchers and targeted support to young families.

Systemic Macro-economic and financial shocks. Conflicts. Natural disasters and climate change.Price spikes and inflation.

Macro-economic policies.Conflict prevention. Disaster risk-management.Wage policies.

Risks of impoverishment and policy responses

What happens to households which escape extreme poverty?

The factors associated with living in poverty, escaping poverty and sustained poverty escapes

 

East Asia and Pacific

Europe and Central Asia

Latin America & Caribbean

Middle East & North Africa

South Asia

Sub-Saharan Africa

Global

$0.70/day Optimistic 6.9 0.2 8.8 2.2 27.5 84.5 130.1

$0.70/day Baseline 10.3 0.4 11.6 4.1 47.8 124.8 199.0

$0.70/day Pessimistic 15.2 0.6 14.4 6.3 92.8 172.1 301.4

$1.25/day Optimistic 33.1 1.9 21.4 9.1 143.4 218.7 427.5

$1.25/day Baseline 46.6 3.0 27.8 14.2 228.0 304.5 624.1

$1.25/day Pessimistic 68.3 4.4 35.3 20.3 409.1 417.5 954.9

Projected poverty headcount in 2030 by country income category

Projected poverty headcount by 2030 in fragile and non-fragile states

Summary comments on Sweden’s Aid Policy Framework

• Long menu - use goal to screen: what makes the biggest difference?

– Tackling chronic poverty √ – Preventing impoverishment √– Sustaining escapes from poverty x

• Politics, taxation, social contract, remember ‘power analysis’

Future plans

• Pro-poorest growth (PP²G)• Anti-discrimination measures• Political economy of policy change needed to

eradicate poverty: what needs to change by 2020?

• Disability and poverty dynamics: policy evaluation

• Climate finance and poverty eradication